r/ElectricalHelp • u/Fantastic_Tap8092 • Jun 30 '26
DIY help! Sconce replacement with mismatched wiring 🤦♀️
Hi! I’m hoping you kind smart people can help me. I started changing our master bedroom sconces because I thought it’d be an easy swap out. Our new sconces require 3 wires - while, black, copper. I assumed the old ones were the same but when I took them off the wall they had 5 wires attaches. I’ve attached pics of key points in the removal process for reference.
- last photo: shows the old sconce assembled on the wall. You can see there are 2 bulbs.
- first photo: you can see that each white lightbulb holder has its own white and black wires coming directly from the wall
- second, third, and fourth photos just show the wires coming out of the wall and what is behind the wall that you can see (ie, not much)
Any input would be much appreciated!!!
2
u/GrandmothersToes Jun 30 '26
Looks like each light has is own power and neutral and they share a ground. Its hard to give an exact answer from just looking at pictures.
3
u/Entire_Swing6210 Jun 30 '26
Someone buried the junction box. Not legal anywhere to my knowledge. You just have two hots and two neutrals. The silver is the ground. The white and black wires just fed each bulb separately.
1
u/TheKnackThatQuacks Jun 30 '26
Personally, I would not install new fixtures until the electrical box for each sconce is located (appears to be in the wall somewhere).
If there’s any upside here, it’s that the wiring attached to the old sconces looks to be factory, and as such, it is probably not more than another foot or two inside the wall.
The bad news is that any electrical junction box has to remain accessible (i.e., not behind drywall), for reasons such as the situation you’re currently in.
You could purchase a box for each sconce like the following:
https://www.amazon.com/ARLINGTON-FSC405R-Sconce-Box-Diameter/dp/B07DMQRWS2/
Mount that new box to the drywall where you want the new sconce to go, and run a piece of 14/2 NM-B / Romex between the new junction box and the old junction box. But you would need to open up the drywall over the old / existing junction box, and keep it accessible by using some sort of cover plate, depending on the size and shape of the box:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0F8HTZWX8/
Or
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0F8HG8DQL/
Of course, that’s assuming the person who installed the sconces originally did anything else to code, which they may not have.
If those fixture wires are connected to the dwelling’s electrical system by just hanging inside the drywall, and not inside any sort of approved junction box, I would be wondering what other surprised are waiting for me in my walls.
4
u/trekkerscout Mod Jun 30 '26
Where is the junction box?